


The Best is Yet to Come (a.k.a. Having Your Cake and Eating it, Too)

by bbcphile



Series: Harboured and Encompassed [5]
Category: Hornblower (TV)
Genre: Baking, Dancing, Domestic Antics, Kissing, M/M, OT3, Other, Polyamory, Seriously brush your teeth; this will rot them as much as the cake they're baking, utter schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 02:16:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12422991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbcphile/pseuds/bbcphile
Summary: The only thing sweeter than the cake Archie and Horatio tried to make for Will in honour of their anniversary is their devotion to each other. And Archie's judicious application of music, of course.





	The Best is Yet to Come (a.k.a. Having Your Cake and Eating it, Too)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [girabbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girabbit/gifts).



> Girabbit asked me on Tumblr for something in the Harboured and Encompassed universe involving our navy triad cooking. Naturally, because I wrote it, this means that dancing and music also happened. :D Thanks, Girabbit, for being awesome, and thanks to Kedge for being a magnificent beta!!

“I’m home! Happy anniversary, love!”

Horatio looked up from his laptop. Archie was leaning against the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen, a giant grin on his face, and two dozen red roses, elegantly wrapped in purple paper, in his arms.

Horatio blinked. “You’re back early!”

Archie raised an eyebrow. “No, I’m not. It’s 5:30. I even texted to say I was running late, so you could start the decorating without me.”

Horatio frowned down at his phone where it lay on the dining room table. The message from Archie stared back at him. His heart started thumping more rapidly. How had he lost track of time? Now they wouldn’t have time to decorate the cake before Will got home--

The cake.

Oh, God, the cake.

Archie wrinkled his nose, then took a step back into the kitchen, placing the roses on the kitchen counter. “What’s that smell? Is . . . is that the cake?”

The smoke detectors began to blare around them.

“Damn!” Horatio lept to his feet and sprinted past Archie into the kitchen. He turned off the temperature, wrenched open the door, and leaned forward, his hands reaching out to the cake pan that lay in the middle of the oven rack.

“Mitts!” Archie yelped, pressing their HMS Surprise oven mitts firmly against Horatio’s chest to stop the impending disaster.

Horatio blinked as he stared down at the ships on his chest. “Oh. Erm. Of course. I was just--”

“--About to repeat the mistake from last month?” Archie said with a grin.

Horatio rolled his eyes. “Just . . . open the windows, will you?”

“As you wish, love.” Archie pressed a quick kiss to Horatio’s lips before jogging out of Horatio’s sight.

Horatio slid the ridiculous mitts on, then leaned down again to carefully pull out the cake pan. He glowered at the blackened mass within, wishing the force of his glare could return the dough to its original raw state. Perhaps he should have left the baking to Will after all.

After a moment, Archie draped an arm over his shoulder. “It’s a sorry business, isn’t it?” He sighed dramatically. “Rest in peace, dear cake. We hardly knew ye. You shall be buried with all the consideration due to your station. In the old Scottish tradition, I shall sing thee to thy rest. ‘Amaaaaaazing Grace, How sweet--’”

Horatio scowled and elbowed him in the ribs.

“--Alright, love, alright,” Archie said, laughing, as he rubbed his side. “I’ll stop. Funeral’s cancelled.”

Horatio bristled. “It’s still edible.”

Archie nodded sagely. “Absolutely. In fact, the NHS designated charcoal as the newest superfood, so we should have several servings each day--”

Horatio rolled his eyes. “Archie, be serious.”

Archie smiled. “Fine. We can eat it if you want. But I thought you preferred your cake to be moist and fluffy rather than . . . well . . . than this.” He poked it with the cake tester. It didn’t make a dent. He frowned and pushed harder. The metal penetrated the burned exterior with a crunch.

Horatio winced.

Archie stared at the former pudding. “How long did you leave it in for?”

Horatio glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Erm . . . a little over an hour?”

Archie raised an eyebrow as the corners of his lips started to twitch. “Overshot the mark, then?”

Horatio ducked his head. “Perhaps a bit.”

“Should I ask?”

“I was researching. I must have dismissed the timer on my phone without realizing it.” He sighed. “I merely wished to surprise Will. He always does the food preparation.”

Archie stepped in front of him, cutting off his view of the cake, and put a hand on each shoulder. “And we still will. We can start over. Everyone’s burned at least a cake or three in their time. Mum once nearly set the oven on fire trying to make Yorkshire puddings. No one’s hurt, nothing’s damaged, we don’t have to buy a new stove like we did when the pressure cooker overheated, and no one’s having flashbacks. As kitchen disasters go, this one hardly counts for us.”

Horatio frowned. Even the horror of discovering their oven crumpled and the pressure cooker’s lid embedded in the ceiling had paled in comparison with the sheer terror on Will’s face at the bang of the explosion itself. He shuddered. Archie was right. This was a fixable problem.

He cleared his throat. “Right. No use in sitting idly by when there’s work to do. We should be able to at least mix the ingredients again before he comes home.” He turned the oven back on to preheat and prepared to examine the recipe again.

Archie grinned. “I’ll go get more chocolate.” He kissed Horatio quickly on the lips, then spun around to rummage in the cabinets.

Horatio chuckled and rolled his eyes. “As long as you save some for the cake.”

Archie stuck his head out of the cabinet to smile at Horatio, his eyes twinkling. “I’m actually rather good at sharing, as you may remember. Unless you or Will have any complaints.”

“Nothing springs to mind,” Horatio said with a grin. “Although you can give a practical demonstration after dinner, if you feel so inclined.”

Archie smirked. “Aye aye, Captain Hornblower.”

Horatio cleared his throat and tried to focus on the recipe in front of him. The oven was supposed to be heating up, not him. “But . . . erm . . . perhaps we should focus on making this first.”

Archie chuckled as he stood up, dark chocolate bars in hand. “Make cake, then love. Got it. And we should wait for Will anyway.” He paused, then grinned. “But I wouldn’t say no to another kiss.”

Horatio smiled. “That could be arranged,” he said, placing the recipe on the counter and walking over to where Archie waited for him. He put his hands on Archie’s hips, letting his thumb slip under his untucked shirt to brush lightly against his skin. Archie’s breath hitched and his eyes fluttered shut. Horatio leaned forward, his own pulse speeding up in answer, and gently pressed their lips together, savoring the warm, loving touch as much now as he did with their first kiss.

“Happy anniversary, my love,” Horatio murmured when they finally pulled apart.

“Happy anniversary,” Archie answered, stroking his thumb slowly across Horatio’s cheekbone. “Now, let’s bake a cake.”

*********

Will paused, his hand on the doorknob, as the faint smell of chocolate wafted out of their flat. So that’s what Horatio’d been so secretive about. He must’ve been planning to make a cake for at least the last week.

Good thing he’d bought a bottle of port for them to share instead of making a cake himself.

He shook his head, a fond smile on his lips, remembering the last time Horatio’d tried to bake anything. At least they’d managed to air out the house out before Archie came home from rehearsal.

He opened the door. The faint sounds of Van Morrison greeted him.

Will raised an eyebrow as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Archie usually sang along to showtunes while they made dinner. He shrugged and sat down on the bench in the mudroom to take off his shoes.

Archie’s high-pitched giggle briefly drowned out the slow string and piano accompaniment.

“What did I do this time?” Horatio asked, his smile carrying around the corner along with his voice.

“Oh, nothing. You just stepped on my foot again.”

Horatio huffed out a laugh. “If people were meant to dance in such close formation, they’d all have smaller feet.”

Archie snorted. “Now who’s being absurd?”

Will chuckled quietly as he stood up and padded over to the kitchen. Horatio dancing? Victoria always claimed that someone’d have to put a gun to his head to get him to try.

But then again, when Archie was involved, the normal rules didn’t apply.

He rounded the corner of the mudroom into the kitchen, set the port down quietly on the counter, and stood mostly out of the line of sight to watch.

Horatio and Archie were smiling at each other in the kitchen, flour dusting their clothes, novelty aprons, and hair, oblivious to everything but their arms around each other.

Horatio’s amused exasperation softened into something more tender as he reached out to smooth away a loose strand of Archie’s hair that had fallen in front of his eyes again.

Archie turned his head to kiss Horatio’s palm, then took a step closer, pressing their bodies against each other, and wrapping his arms around Horatio. “Ready for another go?” he murmured, his voice low as he gazed up at Horatio.

Horatio nodded with an impossibly fond smile as he put his arms around Archie’s waist. “For you? Always.”

Will leaned back against the counter with a smile as he watched them close their eyes and sway back and forth to the music in silence. It was good to see them happy again. The trial had been hard on them all. Archie especially.

After a few verses, Archie closed his eyes, and began to sing along.  
       “I've been travellin' a hard road  
        Lookin' for someone exactly like you.  
        I've been carryin' my heavy load,  
        Waiting for the light to come shining through.  
        Someone like you makes it all worthwhile.  
        Someone like you keeps me satisfied.  
        Someone exactly like you.”

Horatio held Archie more tightly. “I love you,” he whispered, his voice almost shaking.

“I love you, too,” Archie murmured back.

Will swallowed, his throat feeling oddly thick.

Archie paused, tilted his head, then opened his eyes and turned to smile over his shoulder at Will. “Same goes for you, Will. Happy anniversary, love.”

Will stilled. He hadn’t meant to interrupt them.

Horatio’s eyes flew open and he turned to look at the entrance. “Oh! Will! Welcome home! Why didn’t you say something?”

Will shrugged. “I liked watching you.”

“Well, William James Bush” Archie said, a twinkle in his eye, “Time to do more than watch. It’s your turn for a dance. Horatio, do you mind?”

Horatio smiled and shook his head. “Not at all,” he said, and stepped back to gesture for Will to take his place.

Will blinked. Dancing wasn’t particularly something he’d done much of since . . . well, since the injury.

Archie smirked. “And in honour of your secret love of Van Morrison, I’ll start the track over again.”

Will raised an eyebrow as Archie reached over to his phone on the counter to restart ‘Someone Like You.’ Only Cathy and Victoria knew that he sometimes listened to Van Morrison. So, who’d told him?

Horatio frowned. “But . . . this doesn’t sound like punk. The rhythm’s off.”

“That’s because it’s not. But Cathy told me it’s one of Will’s favorites, so I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

Will smiled and shook his head. “I should have guessed.”

“Probably,” Archie grinned. “Now, come dance with me, love.” He held out his hand and beckoned.

With a shrug and a faint smile, Will walked over and took his hand.

Archie smirked and pulled him in close. “Now, what’s this I hear about you joining Anne for dance lessons once upon a time?”

Horatio’s eyes went wide. “Will?”

Will raised an eyebrow, trying to keep as neutral an expression as possible. “It was almost a decade ago. I don’t remember a thing.”

Archie shrugged. “That’s alright, I can lead. But, seeing as I have a ridiculously attractive man in my arms and his favorite music playing on my phone, it seems a waste not to--”

A tilted, dry smile was the only warning Will gave Archie before pulling him into a low dip. “Better?” Will asked, his lips hovering mere centimeters away.

Archie swallowed, his pupils blown wide. “Will, if you don’t kiss me right now, I swear to God--”

Will grinned, then kissed him as soundly as he could while keeping his balance. Of course Archie tasted like chocolate. “Happy anniversary,” he said, when they finally pulled apart.

Archie smiled dazedly. “Happy anniversary, love. Looks like you do remember some moves after all.” His grin widened as he slid his hand up to Will’s bicep. “Sexy, by the way. Convenient, too. How long do you think you could hold me up like this?”

Will huffed out a laugh as his arms started to shake from holding Archie up. “About another minute. Not long enough for what you have in mind.”

Archie grinned again. “I suppose that’s for the best. Horatio hasn’t had his kiss yet.”

“That’s quite alright,” Horatio said from his spot near the fridge. “I’m enjoying the performance.”

“Well, show’s over, love. It’s your turn now.” Archie said with a wink as Will pulled him back to his feet, his hands lingering on Archie’s waist.

Horatio glanced at Will’s hands, then smiled. “No need to move on my account. I have a better idea. Stay there.”

“Oh God, no, not an idea. Run, Will! Save yourself!” Archie said in mock horror as he gripped Will's shoulders.

Will snorted. “I’m fine right where I am,” he said, wrapping his arms around Archie again.

Horatio smiled and rolled his eyes as he walked toward them. “I’m glad one of you listens to me occasionally.”

Archie nodded seriously and looked over his shoulder at Horatio. “We have to take it in turns, you see. Equal distribution of power, and all that. It’s written into the polyamory byelaws.”

Will snorted again.

“You’re ridiculous,” Horatio said, putting his arms around both Archie and Will.

“And you love every second of it,” Archie said with a smile. “Now, if we agree you don’t have to dance, will you stop stalling and get your kiss from Will?”

Horatio grinned. “I could be persuaded.”

Will raised an eyebrow as Horatio rose up on his tiptoes to reach his head over Archie’s shoulders and press a long, lingering kiss against his lips. Will’s lips tingled pleasantly long after Horatio pulled back with a smug smile.

“Was that to your satisfaction, gentlemen?” Horatio asked knowingly.

“Can’t complain,” Will said with a smile.

“I can. Why am I always in the middle?” Archie teased as he snuggled further into the hug.

Horatio’s soft huff of laughter brushed against Will’s lips as he pulled back and pressed a kiss against Archie's neck, just below his ear. “Because my arms are the longest,” he murmured, holding them both more tightly.

“What's your excuse, Will?” Archie asked, his hand snaking up to Will’s shoulders to give him a massage.

“Horatio’s too bony,” Will answered with a dry smile.

Archie snorted.

Horatio spluttered indignantly.

“It’s fine, H’ratio,” Archie said, craning his head around to glance at Horatio out of the corner of his eye. “You know he loves you.” He paused, then grinned, a familiar mischievous gleam in his eyes. “In fact, I would say he made that rather vocally apparent the other night. Well done, by the way, Will. Impressive stamina.”

Horatio blushed and ducked his head as he failed to fight back a smirk.

Will chuckled. “I aim to please.”

Archie snorted. “And you have excellent aim, judging by the noises Horatio was making.”

Will swallowed back a laugh.

Horatio groaned and buried his face in Archie’s shoulder. “Archie!”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, love. It’s good to hear you two enjoying yourselves.” Archie hesitated, licked his lips, and met Will’s eyes. “In fact, I thought, if you’re in the mood, that I’d . . . join in tonight.”

Will felt himself start to harden instantly. It had been weeks since Archie’d felt up for more than kissing and falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Horatio lifted his head, his eyes wide and eager. “Really?”

Archie nodded. “We can try, at least. And also, I got something you might like.” He grinned, then let go of Will to reach into his back pocket, and pulled out a rather chunky beige-colored tube.

Horatio tilted his head, his forehead wrinkled. “Sparkly deodorant?”

Archie beamed. “It’s body glitter, love. Rainbow coloured. I figured we could have some fun with it. We need to wash the sheets anyway.”

Horatio’s eyes grew wide as he stared at it in rapt attention, tilting his head back and forth to make the sparkles catch the light. “It’s . . . beautiful.”

Archie’s grin shone as brightly as the glitter. “You think it’s beautiful now, just wait ’til you put it on me.”

Horatio looked up, his eyes wide as saucers. “How much time until our dinner’s delivered?”

Archie laughed. “Not enough time, sadly. And we shouldn’t leave the oven alone; your timer will be going off soon. We don’t want to burn the pudding again.”

Horatio blinked. “Oh. Yes. Of course.”

Will glanced over at the mixer and the dishes on the counter, then at the oven itself. The chocolate scent started to smell rather familiar. “Is that . . . . my mum’s chocolate cake recipe in the oven?”

Archie and Horatio grinned in unison.

“Anne sent it to us,” Horatio answered.

“Only the best for our Will,” Archie chimed in.

Will smiled and dipped his head, feeling suddenly warm.

“--Or at least a close approximation of the best, given our piss-poor baking skills,” Archie finished.

Will looked up and glanced around, his lips twitching. “But nothing’s on fire this time. Well done.”

Horatio rolled his eyes.

Archie chuckled. “Why, thank you, love. I’m rather proud of us as well.”

Will glanced over at the counter again. Oddly, the cream didn’t seem to be out. “How’s the icing coming?”

Horatio cleared his throat. “Er . . . we . . . became sidetracked.”

Archie grinned. “Dancing, as you can see.”

“I can take over,” Will said with a smile.

Archie turned his head to look at Horatio. “Horatio, I think we’ve been found derelict in our duty and are being relieved of our confectionary commands. We’ll never survive the shame.”

Horatio kissed him on the neck. “Maybe we should mutiny.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “What if I add caramel and coffee flavour to the icing?”

Archie nodded. “Effective bargaining, Will. You know your audience’s hearts and stomachs. Ready, Horatio?” He craned his head to look over his shoulder at him. “Um . . . you’ll have to move first, love, unless you’d like me to reenact your first meeting with Will by bowling him over. And seeing as linoleum is less cushioned than carpet, I can’t say I’d recommend it.”

Horatio rolled his eyes, pressed one more kiss to Archie’s neck, then stepped back and shook his head to focus. He glanced about him, nodding to himself as he surveyed the scene, then snapped to attention. “Right. Will, you start on the icing. Archie, you and I will see if the cake is ready. If it is, then I’ll set up the cooling racks while Archie practices his penmanship for the writing on the top of the cake. Archie, I hereby give you full artistic license regarding colors, words, and designs, but, for the love of God, have it be something suitable for the pictures we’ll send to our families.”

Archie glanced at Will and smirked. Will fought back the smile and gave a slight nod.

“Aye aye, Captain Hornblower,” Archie said with a wink.

Horatio blushed, rolled his eyes, and busied himself with picking the oven mitts off the counter.

Will took a saucepan from the drying rack and brought it, the butter, and sugar over to the stove to prepare the caramel. As he measured out the sugar, he heard Archie’s voice merge with Van Morrison’s for the final verse.

         “I've been all around the world  
          Marching to the beat of a different drum.  
          But just lately I have realised  
          The best is yet to come.”

Will smiled as he poured the sugar in. He couldn’t have imagined this over a year ago. Certainly not three, when he was invalided home, unable to walk, and assumed love was something that happened to others.

He grinned. Then again, he’d never been known for his imagination.

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't know "Someone Like You," here's a link: https://youtu.be/tIrJK19dADI


End file.
